A surgeon followed a patient to her car and sexually assaulted her at Leatherhead Hospital, a court has been told.

Dr Puthur Damodaran denies touching the woman, aged in her mid-20s, in a sexual way. The 41-year-old's trial started at Guildford Crown Court on Monday (October 21).

The orthopaedic surgeon, of Tanyard Way, Horley, had seen the patient at the hospital during an appointment in July last year, jurors heard.

As he assessed the patient's back, a watching nurse noted that "she had not seen a doctor or registrar go as low as this defendant" in an examination and a "couple of movements concerned her", prosecutor Ruby Selva said.

But the appointment did not leave the complainant suspicious of Dr Damodaran's motives, and on leaving the hospital she was distressed only at another apparent failure to properly diagnose and address her back problem, she told police in an interview played to the court.

She said: "As I was walking out I was miles away [in thought]. I could see someone trying to catch my attention. It was the doctor.

"He said 'don't be so upset, don't worry'. I thought it was really nice of him to try to calm me down and cheer me up."

After they had exchanged pleasantries, Dr Damodaran started to ask about the back injury again, the complainant added, claiming he said he had forgotten to check something.

'Touching me'

She went on: "He asked me how I got to the hospital. He said 'where's your car? I need you to sit down'. Basically he invited himself to my car. Because I was upset I didn't really pay attention.

"He sat in the passenger seat, he was leaning towards me, he started examining me in my car.

"He said 'I need you to straighten your leg and relax'. He was a doctor, I trusted him."

At this point the woman said Dr Damodaran started tapping her on the backside and poking her.

She said: "I felt really weird and awkward. He said 'undo your top'. I said 'I can't because it's a one-piece'. He was trying to get on my skin. He did try and lift it, he was touching me."

It was then that the defendant started moving his hand in the complainant's groin area with "quite a lot of pressure", she said.

"He kept looking towards the hospital and I realised," she added.

"I said 'I think I'm going to wait for my MRI scan result. Can you please leave my car'. He kept staring at me and smiling."

This was an image which the woman said had haunted her.

"I hate sitting in my car, all I can see is him smiling at me with his big eyes," she said.

"I want to make sure it does not happen to someone else."

'Panicking'

The court heard that both of them left the vehicle soon afterwards and the complainant, who said she was now "panicking", went into the hospital to tell other staff what had happened.

Talking about the incident with her boyfriend later led him to contact police and when Dr Damodaran was interviewed he told officers that on seeing the woman was upset as she left, he had comforted her.

But he denied re-examining or sexually assaulting her.

His barrister, Brendan Finucane QC, cross-examined the woman in the witness stand.

"You were very upset when you got to your car," he told her. "He was telling you not to worry. He got into the car and was trying to reassure you."

The woman denied this, saying: "Why do you think I would make something like that up? I'm telling the truth."

Responding to another of Mr Finucane's questions, she confirmed a subsequent appointment about her back was moved forward.